Do you enjoy Hallmark Channel movies?

[CellarDweller]

They are not great movies by any means, but they are a guilty pleasure, and I consider them part of my "holiday season", starting in October when I watch the Harvest/Halloween ones. I do avoid the Christmas ones until the weekend after Thanksgiving.

This year, however, I am making an exception to watch "The Christmas House" which airs on November 22nd. It's Hallmark's first Christmas movie to feature a gay storyline, so I want to see how they do with it.

"The Christmas House" premieres November 22 on the Hallmark Channel and it stars Robert Buckley, Jonathan Bennett, Ana Ayora, Treat Williams, Sharon Lawrence, and Brad Harder. The official synopsis reads:

Working through some difficult decisions, Wade family matriarch Phylis (Lawrence) and patriarch Bill (Williams), have summoned their two grown sons—TV star Mike Wade (Buckley) and Brandon Wade (Bennett)—home for the holidays. It is their hope that bringing the family together to recreate the Christmas house will help them find resolution and make a memorable holiday for the entire family and community. As Brandon and his husband Jake (Harder) make the trip home, they are anxiously awaiting a call about the adoption of their first child. Meanwhile, Mike reconnects with Andi (Ayora), his high school sweetheart.

[Steel Inquisitor]

I like videos like this about them.

[chachi]

What has 15 actors, four settings, two writers, and one plot?
632 Hallmark movies.

[Anodyne]

I’m not a Hallmark fan per say, but I do watch all the Aurora Teagarden Mysteries that they air, because well, I’ve always been a fan of/in love w. Candace Cameron...

...and a fan of Charlaine Harris, of True Blood fame, who wrote the books Aurora Teagarden originated in.

I too watch the Aurora Teagarden mysteries because I like the books. Have you also read Harris's Lily Bard novels? The first is Shakespeare's Landlord. (This Shakespeare is a town, not the playwright.) The books are a bit dark, but Hallmark has a habit of lightening things up for their movies. Sometimes a bit too much, IMHO

[stargazer01]

They are not great movies by any means, but they are a guilty pleasure, and I consider them part of my "holiday season", starting in October when I watch the Harvest/Halloween ones. I do avoid the Christmas ones until the weekend after Thanksgiving.

This year, however, I am making an exception to watch "The Christmas House" which airs on November 22nd. It's Hallmark's first Christmas movie to feature a gay storyline, so I want to see how they do with it.

"The Christmas House" premieres November 22 on the Hallmark Channel and it stars Robert Buckley, Jonathan Bennett, Ana Ayora, Treat Williams, Sharon Lawrence, and Brad Harder. The official synopsis reads:

Working through some difficult decisions, Wade family matriarch Phylis (Lawrence) and patriarch Bill (Williams), have summoned their two grown sons—TV star Mike Wade (Buckley) and Brandon Wade (Bennett)—home for the holidays. It is their hope that bringing the family together to recreate the Christmas house will help them find resolution and make a memorable holiday for the entire family and community. As Brandon and his husband Jake (Harder) make the trip home, they are anxiously awaiting a call about the adoption of their first child. Meanwhile, Mike reconnects with Andi (Ayora), his high school sweetheart.

I saw the previews but I didn't notice anything about the gay couple. I'm not gay, but I don't mind it. Hope they act normal like any other couple and don't bring too much attention to the fact.

[DrNewGod]

Sometimes. They've got a lot of white people, and they are terribly formulaic, so kind of bland.

I don't know if you have seen it in recent times, but I have noticed they are becoming more inclusive and open-minded. Now, there is some divorced people, for instance. That didn't happen before. Or at least I didn't notice.

I've noticed that too. The representation is generally thin, and characterization is usually designed to be mellow and non-jarring to Hallmark's extant base, but somebody up there has taken a look at where demographics are headed in North America.

My wife is into them more than me. The Christmas films drive me crazy (how many times can a script squeeze the word "Christmas " into it), but I enjoy several of the mysteries. I even overlook that most of the protagonists hold jobs that would leave them no time for sleuthing about.

[CellarDweller]

What has 15 actors, four settings, two writers, and one plot?
632 Hallmark movies.

LOL! That's why you can get trashed easily playing Hallmark Christmas Movie bingo

[Scott Taylor]

Generally they are light fare that is mostly harmless and sentimental. Quality is top notch.

I don't know if you have seen it in recent times, but I have noticed they are becoming more inclusive and open-minded. Now, there is some divorced people, for instance. That didn't happen before. Or at least I didn't notice.

I've noticed a little more inclusivity. Good steps. Not sure if they've ever had a mixed race couple, but maybe, hopefully thats coming. Hallmark is trying to walk the line and not piss off their base.

[GOLGO 13]

Their Christmas movies are the BOMB!

It's always a white, college educated, single female in her late 20's - early 30's with no children, never married. Always too busy chasing her professional career in [WHATEVER] "in the BIG city", away from the quaint, 98.9% white populated, picturesque home town in some fly-over state.

Female is a solid 6, usually blonde & has a 100% certified heart of gold. Not too pretty, but always attractive with a GREAT personality!

Then when visiting her home-town (during Christmas), FATE causes her to crash into an impossibly way-too handsome for her, successful Chad that is immediately smitten with her...

Usually ends with her "painfully"giving up her career to settle down in her home-town with the beyond gorgeous & super-RICH Chad that she's amazingly fallen for...so brave & stunning. There, I think I got the Hallmark formula down. Let's see Garth Ennis give a shot at a Hallmark movie.

[Scott Taylor]

Its true. The prettiest women in those movies are always the hometown rival or some form of Karen.

[Phoenixx9]

What has 15 actors, four settings, two writers, and one plot?
632 Hallmark movies.

LMAO!

Their Christmas movies are the BOMB!

It's always a white, college educated, single female in her late 20's - early 30's with no children, never married. Always too busy chasing her professional career in [WHATEVER] "in the BIG city", away from the quaint, 98.9% white populated, picturesque home town in some fly-over state.

Female is a solid 6, usually blonde & has a 100% certified heart of gold. Not too pretty, but always attractive with a GREAT personality!

Then when visiting her home-town (during Christmas), FATE causes her to crash into an impossibly way-too handsome for her, successful Chad that is immediately smitten with her...

Usually ends with her "painfully"giving up her career to settle down in her home-town with the beyond gorgeous & super-RICH Chad that she's amazingly fallen for...so brave & stunning. There, I think I got the Hallmark formula down. Let's see Garth Ennis give a shot at a Hallmark movie.

LOL. You left out the super-hunk has also been wasting his years with no one/no one special, and they both want children, one or the other is happy to uproot and move elsewhere or happy to have moved there, get a last-minute high-paying one-of-a-kind job that no one else has, and a wedding and children happen/or will happen in the next year to to years. The male is overly smitten with the female and will do anything, go anywhere and say anything just to be in love with her (stepford husband).

Yeah, now I think we have nailed all of the features down in these movies, lol.

[DrNewGod]

LMAO!



LOL. You left out the super-hunk has also been wasting his years with no one/no one special, and they both want children, one or the other is happy to uproot and move elsewhere or happy to have moved there, get a last-minute high-paying one-of-a-kind job that no one else has, and a wedding and children happen/or will happen in the next year to to years. The male is overly smitten with the female and will do anything, go anywhere and say anything just to be in love with her (stepford husband).

Yeah, now I think we have nailed all of the features down in these movies, lol.

There's a thread around here somewhere about "only in a Hallmark movie"

[stargazer01]

Generally they are light fare that is mostly harmless and sentimental. Quality is top notch.



I've noticed a little more inclusivity. Good steps. Not sure if they've ever had a mixed race couple, but maybe, hopefully thats coming. Hallmark is trying to walk the line and not piss off their base.

I agree, but maybe they realize they need to reflect more of real life right now.

And the main leads in two movies this year are mixed. I don't see what the issue is, because this has been happening long ago in other networks, movies, etc. About time.

[LordMikel]

Generally they are light fare that is mostly harmless and sentimental. Quality is top notch.



I've noticed a little more inclusivity. Good steps. Not sure if they've ever had a mixed race couple, but maybe, hopefully thats coming. Hallmark is trying to walk the line and not piss off their base.

I was just watching one and it does have a mixed couple. Jingle Bell Bride. It is new for this year, but kudos to Hallmark for having it.

My one complaint, I love their mysteries and I don't know why they don't have any Christmas mystery movies. There are many authors which have a Christmas themed mystery. Many TV shows have a Christmas episode. I don't know why Hallmark doesn't do at least one.

[CellarDweller]

There's a thread around here somewhere about "only in a Hallmark movie"

here you go!

https://community.cbr.com/showthread...light=hallmark